Stephen Engelberg

Editor-in-Chief

Photo of Stephen Engelberg

Stephen Engelberg was the founding managing editor of ProPublica from 2008–2012, and became editor-in-chief on January 1, 2013. He came to ProPublica from The Oregonian in Portland, where he had been a managing editor since 2002. Before joining The Oregonian, Mr. Engelberg worked for The New York Times for 18 years, including stints in Washington, D.C., and Warsaw, Poland, as well as in New York. He is a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board.

Mr. Engelberg’s work since 1996 has focused largely on the editing of investigative projects. He started the Times’s investigative unit in 2000. Projects he supervised at the Times on Mexican corruption (published in 1997) and the rise of Al Qaeda (published beginning in January 2001) were awarded the Pulitzer Prize. During his years at The Oregonian, the paper won the Pulitzer for breaking news and was a finalist for its investigative work on methamphetamines and charities intended to help the disabled. He is the co-author of “Germs: Biological Weapons and America’s Secret War” (2001).

Coronavirus Advice From Abroad: 7 Lessons America’s Governors Should Not Ignore as They Reopen Their Economies

We spoke to frontline experts from around the globe and have compiled a list of recommendations for reopening U.S. states. Their consensus? It’s tough to find policies that simultaneously save lives and livelihoods.

The Coronavirus Testing Paradox

Administering coronavirus tests requires time and supplies that are already running out. But aggressive testing has proven to be the best way to track and isolate the disease, stopping its spread. The best path forward depends on where you are.

How South Korea Scaled Coronavirus Testing While the U.S. Fell Dangerously Behind

By learning from a MERS outbreak in 2015, South Korea was prepared and acted swiftly to ramp up testing when the new coronavirus appeared there. Meanwhile, the U.S., plagued by delay and dysfunction, wasted its advantage.

Balancing the Public Interest and a Family’s Grief

ProPublica published a video last week showing the final hours of a 16-year-old migrant who died in Border Patrol custody. The family said they should have been given a chance to see the video before it appeared. They have a point.

The Man Who Made ProPublica Possible

RIP, Herbert M. Sandler, 1931–2019

What ProPublica Is Doing About Diversity in 2019

Here is our annual report on the breakdown of our staff and how we’re working to create a more diverse newsroom and inclusive journalism community.

A Free Press Works for All of Us

The cause of investigative reporting, a crucial element of our democracy, benefits enormously from our country’s tradition of a free, unfettered press.

DHS Chief is Confronted With ProPublica Tape of Wailing Children Separated from Parents

A reporter turned on the audio recording as Kirstjen Nielsen defended the Trump administration’s immigration policies at a White House briefing.

Welcome to Our Second Decade

Much has changed since ProPublica published its first story, but we remain committed to the power of fact-based journalism to spur change and right wrongs.

A Prisoner in Gina Haspel’s Black Site

While most of her career as a CIA operative remains secret, newly available documents shed light on a pivotal moment in the career of President Donald Trump’s choice to head the nation’s spy agency.

What ProPublica Is Doing About Diversity in 2018

Here is a breakdown of our staff. And here is how we’re working to create a more diverse newsroom and inclusive journalism community.

How We Obtained the Government’s Data on Agent Orange and Birth Defects

The Veterans Administration refused to release what it had learned about possible links between birth defects and exposure to Agent Orange. ProPublica and The Virginian-Pilot found a novel way to obtain the information under procedures historically used for scientific research by academic scholars.

HUD Has ‘Serious Concerns’ About Facebook’s Ethnic Targeting

Federal officials are taking a close look at a sales practice that allows advertisers on the social network to include or exclude people who have an “affinity” with specific ethnic groups.

Coming Soon From ProPublica and Frontline: ‘Terror in Europe’

The recent series of terror attacks in France and Belgium lay bare an array of security shortcomings, most of which remain unaddressed. ProPublica and Frontline examine what went wrong and why it is so hard for Europe to protect itself from the growing threat.

In Wells Fargo Case, News Really Did Happen To An Editor

How ProPublica’s top editor failed to recognize that his personal experience with a mysterious bank fee was part of a much, much larger story.

Why Are We Still Wasting Billions on Homeland Security Projects That Don’t Make Us Safer?

An article in The Atlantic on post-9/11 America makes a powerful case that the “never again” approach to homeland security is good politics but lousy policy.

Why We Are Publishing Videos the LAPD Wouldn’t Release

The publishing of the videos detailing Vachel Howard’s death inside a Los Angeles police jail involved months of reporting and a lot of thought.

An Unintended Side Effect of Transparency

Some readers are using a ProPublica database to search for doctors who freely prescribe opioid painkillers, raising questions.

‘Spotlight’ Gets Investigative Journalism Right

Unlike many films about reporters, “Spotlight” accurately depicts the frustrations and joys of breaking a big story, from the drudgery of spreadsheets to the electric thrill of revelatory interviews.

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